


Stay Like This

by TDKeh16



Series: Tumblr Fics and Prompts [24]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Bittersweet, Bittersweet Ending, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, McDonald's, Mon Petit Chou universe compliant, Montreal, Past Kent Parson/Jack Zimmermann
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-17
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-15 13:41:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8058535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TDKeh16/pseuds/TDKeh16
Summary: There were 34 days in the summer of 2009 when things were perfect. Well, maybe not "perfect" exactly...Kent helps Jack recover from a bad hangover.





	

**Author's Note:**

> From the prompts: "It’s nothing McDonald’s breakfast can’t fix" & "I don’t want to get out of bed"
> 
> I'm also adding this directly to the "Mon Petit Chou" series, since I think it's important for both Jack's and Kent's back stories, and is a continuation of sorts to "Until It Wasn't".

"I don't wanna get out of bed. I'm too hungover..." Jack groaned and covered his head with Kent's pillow.

Kent grinned. "Aw, come on. It's nothing a McDonald's breakfast won't fix."

"Gross."

"It's a thing -- McDonald's breakfast is like the _perfect_ hangover cure. I'll prove it." Kent rolled out of bed and quickly got dressed. "You sure you don't want to come? It's just on the corner of Sainte-Catherine and Papineau. It's like a five minute walk."

"If I walk right now I'll puke everywhere. All over your precious apartment," Jack warned.

"Fine. Wait here. I'll be back in fifteen minutes, twenty tops. _Please_ don't throw up everywhere. You get points for holding it till you reach the bathroom."

"Points?" Jack asked groggily.

"Boyfriend points. You know, like--" Kent bit his tongue. "Shit."

" _Boyfriend?_ "

"Shit. Uh, forget I said anything. I'm going to grab us some breakfast and Gatorade and you're going to feel _so_ much better when you're done, I promise."

Kent returned twenty minutes later to find Jack still in bed, but sitting up at least. "I threw up," Jack confessed immediately. "In the toilet, though, so don't worry."

"Good. Did it help?"

"A little. I brushed my teeth, too."

"Is that an invitation for a good morning kiss?"

"Yeah," Jack said with a smile. Kent happily obliged. "How did you carry all of that by yourself?" Jack asked as his eyes finally focused on the coffee table where Kent had set down the two bags of food and four drinks.

"Um, I'm fucking _fantastic_ , that's how. Come on, Zimms. Do you even have to ask?" Kent sat down on the floor beside the coffee table and grinned at him. "You gonna eat or what?"

Jack was fairly certain he would regret it later, but he slowly stood from the bed and sat down next to Kent, dragging the blanket with him. He flopped one corner over Kent's shoulder and adjusted it so that they could both sit on part of the blanket rather than directly on the floor. "I'm not sure I can do it."

"Dude, seriously. It works, I promise. Drink your Gatorade and coffee and eat the food. I got you a bacon and egg bagel meal and one of those sausage mccrêpes things you like so much."

"Thanks, Kenny."

Kent smiled shyly. "Don't worry about it. Thanks for aiming for the toilet instead of barfing all over the bathroom."

Jack laughed quietly and leaned against Kent's shoulder. "How many points was that worth?"

"Oh, uh... Let's go with five? Five points."

"Hm. Five boyfriend points, eh?"

"Sorry, it was a weird thing for me to say..." Kent said and sheepishly bit his lip. He could feel Jack watching him and his cheeks burned. "I didn't-- it's just-- I know we're not really _defining_ anything..." He turned his head and was met with Jack's intense pale blue eyes. "What?"

"I'm just thinking..."

"About what?"

"How many boyfriend points do you get for going out for breakfast and sports drinks...?" Jack asked with a soft smile. "At least 20, right?"

"Pfft! That was worth 25 points, I'll have you know," Kent teased in order to mask how undone he was becoming. His heart was racing. Kent kissed Jack and pushed his soft black hair back from his forehead. "Your skin is all clammy. What the hell did you get into last night? This isn't a normal hangover..."

"I don't know. Whatever was there..."

"I thought we agreed just drinking. The draft is less than a month away, if they test for anything--"

Jack flinched. " _ **Stop.**_ Okay? Quit fucking talking about the draft, I can't handle that right now." He nuzzled his head against the crook of Kent's neck. "I'm sorry... There's 28 days left, so can we just... _not_...?"

"Okay," Kent said quietly and rubbed Jack's back.

"I still feel sick. I don't think I can eat right now. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Here," he handed Jack a bottle of Gatorade. "Drink some of this at least."

Jack did as he was told and then slid onto his side, still partially wrapped in the blanket. He curled up in the fetal position with his head on Kent's lap as a pillow. "I'm tired..."

"You should go back to sleep."

Jack toyed with the hem of Kent's shorts, fingers grazing his knee. "J'ai frette..."

"It's May and I don't even have air conditioning," Kent said as he in turn played with Jack's hair. "It's _warm_ in here, Zimms. Remember how gross you feel right now and next time just stick to beer."

"Okay..."

Kent tapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Come on, get up." He was insistent despite Jack's protests. "You shouldn't sleep on the floor. Go to the bed."

"But..." Jack gently grabbed his hand.

"I'll come with you." He crawled into bed and wrapped his arms around Jack's broad shoulders, spooning him from behind and keeping him bundled in the blanket. "How's this?"

"Worth at least another ten points..."

Kent scoffed again and chuckled. "Try _fifteen_. Whatever amount you think something is worth, automatically add another five to it. This is _**me**_ you're talking about."

"Fifteen boyfriend points, then. For my boyfriend..." Jack said shyly. Kent could not see his full face, but he delighted in the pink tint he caught on Jack's cheek.

He wanted to roll Jack over and kiss his lips feverishly, but settled for single gentle kiss on the nape of his neck. Kent knew he felt too sick now to do anything beyond cuddling. Instead, he slipped one arm beneath the blanket -- the most he could stand in the already warm late morning air -- and searched out Jack's hand, linking their fingers together and giving it a small squeeze. "Boyfriend," he repeated absent-mindedly.

" _Boyfriend_..." Jack repeated as well, his eyes sliding closed with a soft sigh.

Kent was tired as well, it had been a late night for them both. It was after midnight when they left the party, and after 3am by the time they had exhausted themselves enough to fall asleep. His tired eyes looked around his small apartment and Kent could not help but wonder how much longer he would live there. What would his next home look like? He had already built so many memories in that room that it hurt to think about leaving, even if his destination was the NHL.

So many memories with Jack -- drinking together, playing video games, wrestling, talking all night long... And more recently -- kissing, touching, sex, cuddling... And 28 days until everything was going to change. Kent did not blame Jack for not wanting to talk about it. If you scratched his superficial surface layer of excitement, Kent was just as stressed at the thought of being separated from Jack. It had been hard enough to imagine when they were only friends, but _now?_ He was not ready for this to end so soon.

Kent felt the tears beginning to well up in his eyes and he tried desperately to blink them away. A few escaped and he turned his head into the pillow to absorb them. Kent gave Jack's hand another small squeeze and tightened the grip of his arm a little tighter against his side.

"Kenny...?"

"Sorry, go back to sleep." Kent placed another kiss on the nape of his neck.

"Are you too warm?"

"No, I'm okay. I want to stay like this as long as we can."

Jack gave Kent's hand a squeeze this time and pressed his back a little closer against his chest. He knew what Kent was really trying to say. "Me too." 

**Author's Note:**

> They used to be really happy together, you guys. Things didn't work out in the end, but I fully believe that under the years of jealousy and blame and hurt that they still care deeply for each other. 
> 
> Just... They used to be soft and happy.
> 
> A few little notes: I have fond memories of that McDonalds (yeah it's a real location). It's in the gay village and my friend dragged us there every night after the bars closed. (Actually, we were there in August 2009 for Divers/Cité, so just a couple months after this takes place). McCrêpes are what McGriddles are called in French, btw. It helps if you picture Kent pronouncing it with the WORST Anglo accent ever.


End file.
